Vending machine operator

Vending machine operators are responsible for operating vending machines, which sell everything from snacks and beverages to cigarettes and other tobacco products. They ensure that the machines they operate are fully stocked with product and in good working order at all times.

The duties of a vending machine operator include, but are not limited to:

• Repairing or replacing vending machines when needed
• Inspecting the condition of the machines to ensure that they are working properly
• Cleaning and maintaining the machines to ensure they are in good working order at all times
• Providing customer service by answering questions about products or services offered by the company
• Monitoring inventory levels and replenishing supplies as necessary
• Collecting money from customers who purchase items from the machine
• Explaining how to use the vending machines properly
• Stocking vending machines with merchandise such as snacks, drinks, lottery tickets, or other items
• Maintaining records of machine activity, including coin and bill deposits and product sales

Vending machine operators typically work in factories, warehouses, or other commercial establishments. They may be required to lift heavy objects, such as boxes of merchandise, and to stand for long periods of time. Some operators may work in office buildings or other locations where they can sit while they work.

Vending machine operators typically work full time and may work evenings, weekends, and holidays. They may also be on call 24 hours a day to service machines that malfunction or run out of merchandise.

The following job titles also refer to vending machine operator:

coin-operated locker operator
laundrette operator
coin-operated personal service machine operator
vending machine servicer
vending route operator
coin-operated washing machine operator
photo booth operator
vending machine monitor
weighing machine operator
vending machine supervisor
vending machine technician

No formal educational credential is generally required to work as vending machine operator. However, many employers prefer candidates with a high school diploma or a vocational certificate.

ISCO skill level is defined as a function of the complexity and range of tasks and duties to be performed in an occupation. It is measured on a scale from 1 to 4, with 1 the lowest level and 4 the highest, by considering:

• the nature of the work performed in an occupation in relation to the characteristic tasks and duties
• the level of formal education required for competent performance of the tasks and duties involved and
• the amount of informal on-the-job training and/or previous experience in a related occupation required for competent performance of these tasks and duties.

Vending machine operator is a Skill level 1 occupation.

These occupations, although different, require a lot of knowledge and skills similar to vending machine operator.

shelf filler
mining assistant
street sweeper
kitchen porter
aircraft groomer

These occupations require some skills and knowledge of vending machine operator. They also require other skills and knowledge, but at a higher ISCO skill level, meaning these occupations are accessible from a position of vending machine operator with a significant experience and/or extensive training.

vehicle electronics installer
refurbishing technician
surface miner
security alarm investigator
lottery cashier

This knowledge should be acquired through learning to fulfill the role of vending machine operator.

• Food hygiene rules: The set of national and international regulations for hygiene of foodstuffs and food safety, e.g. regulation (EC) 852/2004.
• Geographical routes: The interpretation of geographical information such as locations and distances between them.
• Company policies: The set of rules that govern the activity of a company.

These skills are necessary for the role of vending machine operator.

• Change shelf labels: Change labels on shelves, according to the location of products displayed on vending machines.
• Keep task records: Organise and classify records of prepared reports and correspondence related to the performed work and progress records of tasks.
• Ensure public safety and security: Implement the relevant procedures, strategies and use the proper equipment to promote local or national security activities for the protection of data, people, institutions, and property.
• Maintain operations of vending machines: Clean and maintain vending machines in order to keep them in a proper state. Perform minor adjustments and repairs if needed; repair jams and similar technical malfunctions. Call out service engineers in case of complicated malfunctions. Refill vending machines with goods.
• Carry out stock rotation: Execute repositioning of packaged and perishable products with an earlier sell-by date to the front of a shelf.
• Adjust temperature gauges: Operate temperature gauges to maintain food and drink items at appropriate temperatures.

This knowledge is sometimes, but not always, required for the role of vending machine operator. However, mastering this knowledge allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

• General principles of food law: The national and international legal rules and requirements applied in the food industry.
• Cold chain: The temperature at which certain products are to be kept for consumption.
• Bakery products: The varieties of bread, pastry and other bakery products, their ingredients and manufacturing techniques.
• Electrical wiring plans: Pictorial representation of an electrical circuit. It shows the components of the circuit as simplified shapes, and the power and signal connections between the devices. It gives information about the relative position and arrangement of devices and terminals on the devices, to help in building or servicing the device. A wiring diagram is often used to troubleshoot problems and to make sure that all the connections have been made and that everything is present.
• Tobacco brands: Different brands of tobacco products on the market.
• Mechanics: Theoretical and practical applications of the science studying the action of displacements and forces on physical bodies to the development of machinery and mechanical devices.

These skills and competences are sometimes, but not always, required for the role of vending machine operator. However, mastering these skills and competences allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

• Clean vending machines: Use cleaning equipment to maintain regular cleanliness of the vending machines
• Drive vehicles: Be able to drive vehicles; have the appropriate type of driving license according to the type of motor vehicle used.

9623 – Meter readers and vending-machine collectors

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References

1. ESCO
2. Vending machine operator | Explore careers | National Careers Service
3. Vending Machine Operator Job Description: Salary, Duties, & More – ClimbtheLadder
4. Featured image: By Leonardo Boiko – Japanese worker changing vending machine beverages, CC BY 2.0